By Geno McGahee
“Anger is the enemy.” – Noah (Ossie Davis)
I am a huge fan of the sport of boxing and a big fan of boxing movies, for the most part. I have also noted on multiple occasions how good and versatile an actor Cuba Gooding JR. At this point in his career, Gooding JR was still in his early stages, but comes through like a champ in this interesting and gritty underground pugilism flick, GLADIATOR.
Tommy Riley (James Marshall) has moved to the inner city from the suburbs because his father has lost it all. John Riley (John Heard) has gotten into some hot water with the mob after racking up some gambling debts in hopes of paying off some medical bills to save his wife’s life. She died and he has a mountain of debt to the mob. His move to the city has opened his eyes, but he must leave his son, Tommy, home alone as he goes after a sales job. What is with John Heard always leaving his children home alone? He is not a very good father. I wonder if this is an unofficial sequel to HOME ALONE. I wish Tommy dropped bowling balls on the two goons that came knocking.
I also want to note that Heard’s phone call to “Sharky” was hilarious. First, they named the mobster “Sharky” and the tough guy phone call was ridiculous. He was a keyboard warrior before the internet. How awesome it was to him threaten Sharky and then end it with “you’ll get your god damn money Sharky.” I want to use that the next time I order a pizza.
At school, Tommy is immediately harassed. He is one of the few white kids that are going there and there are gang members looking for trouble. He is bullied, but when push comes to shove, he holds his own and gets the attention of Pappy Jack (Robert Loggia). Loggia is the perfect guy for this role or any role, as he proved in OVER THE TOP. Even in a turd like OVER THE TOP, Loggia shines and he shines brightly here.
Pappy Jack is a recruiter an underground boxing circuit, led by Mr. Horn (Brian Dennehy). When he witnesses Tommy fighting behind a diner, he knows has gold. He has a white kid that can fight and he also needs to fill a void. Some fighter that Loggia referred as “dick breath” backed out a fight with Black Death. After some negotiations, Tommy is penciled in for the showdown and is a big underdog. When he wins in exciting fashion, Horn decides that he is not going to let him go. Tommy, whether he likes it or not, is forced on the circuit to save his father.
Abraham Lincoln Haines (Cuba Gooding JR) is also on the circuit and is the head of a gang called the “avenging angels.” He fights with honor and is the best fighter in the underground game. He sees boxing and Mr. Horn as the way out of the inner city poverty and becomes friends with Tommy and Romano (John Seda), another boxer on the circuit.
I want to mention that this movie brings back a lot of memories. It was a time when men could be tough and still wear stone-washed jeans. The Cameo flattop was the style (Word Up), men had rat tails, and the 1980’s influence was still strong. Not much of the styles of that time has held up and unlike the 1970’s styles, I don’t think that they will be coming back. However, I support ANYONE that decides to have a rat tail and/or mullet while wearing stone-washed jeans.
Tommy neglects his schooling to focus on fighting, but his girlfriend, Dawn (Cara Buono), objects. I don’t blame her. His dad got himself into that jam. Let him figure his way out. Tommy is the good son however and insists on fighting to lift the price on his dad’s head and is on a collision course with his good friend, Lincoln, in a showdown of the best two fighters in the underground circuit. After a tragedy with Romano, Lincoln suffers a brain bleed, but the contest between he and Tommy will still go on…at least according to Horn it will.
The fight turns out to be a no contest and leads to an in-ring showdown between Horn and Tommy. Horn proved how strong he was before the fight when he backhanded Lincoln and launched him like a rocket out of the ring. It reminded me of that old Nintendo game “Ring King.” I wonder if they got the idea from that. What a great game that was.
The final showdown is very amusing. Dennehy brings it as the cocky bad guy. I felt bad for Horn at the end as he lie there on the canvas. Boxing is not meant for men his age. He was at least 20 years beyond his prime and in there with a young guy that was fighting regularly. Shame on Tommy for beating up an old man…even if he was a dickwad.
We have a happy ending all around. Noah (Ossie Davis), the trainer working for Horn, seems a little too happy when Horn hits the floor in a mangled heap. Then again, I’ve had many bosses that I would have loved to see take a pounding and beaten to a pulp. That would have ruled. I did wonder what Noah would do after the fight. Tommy and Lincoln still had the world ahead of them, but I got the sense that Noah needed the job and he just fucked it up with his happiness. Somebody is going to tell Horn that he was rejoicing at his loss and I would think that that would end up in at termination in the least, but possibly a bullet in his head. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
GLADIATOR does everything right. The cast is superb, the acting is over the top, and the soundtrack is incredibly cheesy and terrible. This movie was put out in 1992, but it has the 1980s written all over it. I have nothing but fun watching this film. I also have a great time watching the extras in this film. When you get a film where there are tons of extras, you can’t monitor them all and some act a little strange. Some of the people in the crowd will do the same motion over and over again. One old guy in the crowd just keeps punching his hand in the air in the same motion. They should have booted him out of there, but they kept him. He flew under the radar. Others just grimaced over and over as if the nachos and cheese they bought at the concessions stand was bad. Most people won’t notice extras, but I try to. Hey, they put in the long days too. I especially liked the bald guy at the end nodding as Tommy and Lincoln come face to face. He keeps nodding until they shake hands. I think that they just shook hands to appease him. Bald bastard.
If you love boxing and are a fan of the ridiculous, GLADIATOR is for you. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 8/10
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